The lawyer appealing the federal conviction of imprisoned imam Yassin M. Aref said Tuesday she hopes U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's recent policy change to notify certain defendants of evidence derived from the NSA's warrantless surveillance could lead to her client's freedom.

Kathy Manley told reporters she believes the case of Aref, 43, who was convicted in 2006 of supporting terrorism following an FBI sting that used a fictitious terror plot, should be reviewed because it involved warrantless wiretapping.

Holder said last month the Justice Department would review all criminal cases in which evidence was used from warrantless surveillance — and that the government would notify defendants in some of those cases.

"We believe that that notice should also apply in our case," Manley said, "and that we have even more basis for showing that that surveillance evidence was illegal and not only illegal but we believe it was false."

She was joined by Councilman Dominick Calsolaro in a press conference at the Masjid As-Salam on Central Avenue, where Aref was imam.

Aref, a Kurdish refugee from Iraq, was found guilty along with Mohammed M. Hossain, 58, a native of Bangladesh and naturalized U.S. citizen who owned the Little Italy pizzeria in Albany. They were convicted of planning to launder money from the sale of a shoulder-fired missile and sentenced to 15-year terms by U.S. District Court Senior Judge Thomas McAvoy.

In 2006, the New York Times, quoting anonymous sources, reported that the NSA's wiretapping program may have "played a role" in the investigation of Aref. Aref's trial attorney, Terence Kindlon, requested related evidence for his defense. He was rejected and both the prosecution's response and McAvoy's denial were sealed.

Manley launched a new appeal on behalf of Aref in June arguing that documents released by government, following a Freedom of Information request, indicate the FBI may have wrongly believed he was a member of al-Qaida.